Salt Lake man convicted in Echo assault

After he assaulted a 15-year-old girl last year while the pair rode a wave runner at Echo reservoir, Taylorsville resident Kyle Bruce Back was convicted in January of forcible sexual assault, a second-degree felony.

After hearing testimony for two days, an 8-person jury comprised of four men and four women, deliberated for 90 minutes before voting to convict, Summit County Attorney David Brickey said.

"Every person, male of female, has a right to say, ‘Don’t touch me,’" said Brickey after Back’s trial.

Charges against Back stemmed from an incident at Echo reservoir Aug. 5, 2006, which occurred while the victim, who is from Idaho, was visiting the lake with relatives.

Back, 45, was riding behind the girl on a personal watercraft when the sexual assault occurred, Brickey said.

"The young lady did not know [Back]," he said, adding that Back touched the girl’s breasts.

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"The defendant’s acts caused such concern that she drove the wave runner toward her friends and as soon as she was within a short distance, [she] jumped off the wave runner and swam towards her friends," Third District Court papers filed by prosecutors state.

Brickey had also accused the man of assaulting a 39-year-old woman at Echo but Back was acquitted of that charge.

Back admitted during a telephone call that he might have touched the girl’s breasts unintentionally, according to Brickey.

"When confronted with the fact that the defendant had touched [the 39-year-old woman], the defendant replied ‘ya, but you’re an adult," court papers state.

Sentencing for Back is scheduled March 13. He faces one to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.